Zebra females suddenly plucking

[arnoldus]

I got 5 female zebras housed together, and 3 among them show signs of plucking in the neck, 1 also very bad at the back of the head (that bird is also always very nervous icp the others, if that has anything to do with it).
This has happened over 2-3 days. The two others seem to be unaffected.

I can not understand why. They have been housed in the exact same conditions for 3 months now.
Their cage is 80cm (31inch) long, 45cm (18 inch) wide x 90 cm (35inch) high.
They are fed daily to their liking. They can bade a few times a week.

Are the two unaffected birds the most likely culprits? What should I try to do to resolve this problem?

[arnoldus]

The two that aren't plucked are mother and daughter by the way. (daughter is almost a year old). Perhaps this is just coincidence, and of course, I'm not sure that it's just 1 or 2birds doing the plucking.

[tinysparrow]

Are the two unaffected birds the most likely culprits? What should I try to do to resolve this problem?

hi arnoldus
i have similar problems with my zebras . i find that they go through cycles when they will pluck each other a lot, and then for a time they will pluck a lot less. i usually just isolate the plucked ones for a while and feed them lots of egg food and their feathers grow back quickly. if its really bad, you can supply a heat source like a small heat lamp to help keep the bird warm.

i have quite a few zebras, and i find that many members of my flock have plucking issues. i have read some articles on this, and it has been a topic of discussion a few times on this forum, and it seems to be related to a few things: stress, overcrowding in the cage, a desire to breed, lack of nesting material (so they use the feathers to line the nest), territory issues, and i have to also add, bad habits.

i hope that some of these ideas may help you a bit! hopefully some other members can share their ideas too

[Lisa]

Arnoldus, be careful with this situation. Zebras can and will sometimes pluck another bird to death.

I would remove the birds that are being picked on and allow them to heal in peace. Things will not improve or the problem go away, it will just increase in intensity. Be careful also that when you remove a picked on bird or the bully bird that a new bird doesn't become the new target or a new bully emerge. Zebras are very tricky to keep together in anything other than bonded pairs. I find the best luck to keep them in groups is put them together when they are juveniles, they don't have the aggression in them like they do when they are adults just yet.

I would consider the quality of life for the birds - even if they are not being plucked but only chased constantly or if plucked but even if it's not severe, just the fact that

that bird is also always very nervous icp the others

is a good indication the bird is being terrorized. Think of it this way, imagine yourself being locked into a room with bullies who constantly want to do you harm, you can't ever just relax or let your guard down. What type of life would you have?

[arnoldus]

I just saw that in fact there is only 1 unplucked bird now, the daughter. I don't know if it's her, but it seems more possible. She is 11 months old, so probably there is a breeding desire playing up.
I will try to separate her for a while with a male, and see what happens.

[ac12]

Having anything that looks like a nest could trigger breeding behavior, which could make them more aggressive.
I agree w some of the comments. I have had to separate zebras by sex, and even then I have further separated them into "compatible" pairs. Coming up with these compatible pairs is sometimes a challenge as some will be aggressive initially then settle down, and others will just remain aggressive to the other bird.
Also an odd number of zebras is not a good idea, as they will pair up, and the odd bird left out will get picked on.

gud luk